The Count of Monte Cristo
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about the novel.For a list of film and TV adaptations, see The Count of Monte Cristo (film). For the character, see Edmond Dantès.
Penguin (Robin Buss Translation) |
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| Author | Alexandre Dumas, père |
|---|---|
| Country | France |
| Language | French |
| Genre(s) | Historical, Adventure |
| Publisher | Chapman and Hall |
| Released | 1844-1846 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| Pages | 2 vol. |
| ISBN | NA |
The Count of Monte Cristo (French: Le Comte de Monte-Cristo) is an adventure novel by Alexandre Dumas, père. It is often considered, along with The Three Musketeers, as Dumas' best work, and is frequently included on lists of the best novels of all time. The writing of the work was completed in 1844. Like many of his novels, it is expanded from the plot outlines suggested by his collaborating ghostwriter Auguste Maquet.
The story takes place in France, Italy, and islands in the Mediterranean during the historical events of 1815–1838 (from just before the Hundred Days through the reign of Louis-Philippe of France). It is primarily concerned with themes of justice, vengeance, mercy, and forgiveness, and is told in the style of an adventure story.
Dumas got the idea for The Count of Monte Cristo from a true story, which he found in a memoir written by a man named Jacques Peuchet. Peuchet related the story of a shoemaker named Pierre Picaud, who was living in Paris in 1807. Picaud was engaged to marry a rich woman, but four jealous friends falsely accused him of being a spy for England. He was imprisoned for seven years. During his imprisonment a dying fellow prisoner bequeathed him a treasure hidden in Milan. When Picaud was released in 1814, he took possession of the treasure, returned under another name to Paris and spent ten years plotting his successful revenge against his former friends.
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[edit] Plot summary
Edmond Dantès, a 19-year-old sailor aboard the ship Pharaon, returns home to Marseille. He is excited to be reunited with his family and friends, and eager to marry his fiancée, the Catalan beauty Mercédès. He is also proud of his recent promotion to captain. At the same time, he's saddened by the recent death of his friend Captain Leclère, his predecessor.
Captain Leclére, a supporter of the now exiled Napoléon, had charged Dantès on his deathbed to deliver a package to former Grand Marshal Maréchal Bertrand, who had been exiled to the isle of Elba. During the Pharaon's stop at Elba, Dantès spoke to Napoléon himself, who asked the sailor to deliver a confidential letter to a man in Paris.
Edmond's good fortune inspires jealousy in those close to him. His promotion to captain offends the hubris of the ship's purser, Danglars. Dantès' windfall stuns his neighbour, the impoverished tailor Caderousse. Finally, a man named Fernand Mondego is in love with the aforementioned Mercédès, who is also his cousin. Danglars writes an anonymous letter to the crown prosecutor accusing Dantès of being a Bonapartist. Inflaming his jealousy, he instigates Fernand to send the letter, while Caderousse looks on in a drunken stupor. Villefort, the deputy crown prosecutor in Marseille, assumes the duty of investigating the matter on Dantès' wedding day; he indeed finds an incriminating letter. Dantès knows nothing of its contents, only that he was asked to deliver it. Although at first sympathetic to Dantès' case, when Villefort finally reads the letter, he discovers to his horror that it is addressed to his own father, Noirtier de Villefort.
Due to the political climate created by the restoration of King Louis XVIII, Villefort wants to distance himself from his Bonapartist father. The deputy crown prosecutor burns the letter, which has the potential to fatally hinder his success. Although Villefort would rather not imprison an innocent man, he ultimately chooses to save his political career rather than properly exercise justice and condemns Dantès to life imprisonment in the island prison of the Château d'If.
[edit] Escape to riches
While in prison, Dantès slowly sinks into despair and finally looks to God for salvation. After years of solitary confinement in a small, fetid dungeon, Dantès loses all hope and contemplates suicide by means of starving himself. His will to live is restored, however, by faint sounds of digging. Dantès soon begins his own tunnel to reach that of his fellow prisoner, the Abbé Faria, an Italian priest whose escape tunnel has strayed in the wrong direction. The two prisoners eventually connect and quickly become inseparable friends.
The old man, a gifted scholar as well as a priest, provides Edmond with a comprehensive education in subjects including languages, history, economics, philosophy, and mathematics. Edmond also learns the manners of polite society, growing in confidence and sophistication. Aside from the lessons, the two discuss Edmond's betrayal and piece together the events that placed the young man in his brutal predicament.
Both men continue to work assiduously on their tunnel, but the elderly and infirm Faria does not survive to see its completion. Knowing that he would soon die, Faria confides in Dantès the location of a great cache of treasure on the Italian islet of Monte Cristo.
After his mentor dies, Dantès uses the opportunity to escape. He moves Faria's body into his own cell and then slips into Faria's body bag. To Dantès surprise, instead of carrying him to the burial ground, as he had expected, the prison guards attach a cannonball to Edmond's feet and throw him into the sea. Edmond plummets, fearfully, from the cliff side, crashing into the icy cold Mediterranean Sea.
Remarkably, and with the help of a sailor's training, Dantès frees himself and swims toward a nearby island. A great storm rages, and Edmond is nearly drowned. The next day, Edmond discovers a shipwreck from the previous evening's storm. Cleverly, Dantès flags down a passing ship and pretends to be its sole survivor. He boards the new vessel and quickly realizes that his comrades are actually a group of smugglers. After months of gaining their trust and respect, Edmond suggests the isle of Monte Cristo as an ideal location to trade smuggled goods. Once on the islet, Edmond feigns an injury, asking to be left behind until the crew can return to pick him up. Although reluctant to leave Edmond, the crew departs. Dantès, alone on the island, is free to search for his hidden treasure.
Edmond's sufferings have had a profound effect on him and even changed his physical appearance--to the extent that even his closest friends and former associates would not recognize him. Intellectually, his studies with the Abbé give him a much greater depth and breadth of knowledge, and his wealth grants him access to the highest levels of society. Perhaps the greatest change to Dantès is psychological. His betrayal by men whom he trusted removes the naiveté of his idealistic youth, and replaces it with the cynicism of bitter experience.
[edit] Revenge
Ten years after his return to Marseilles, Dantès puts into action his plan for revenge. He reinvents himself as the Count of Monte Cristo, a mysterious, fabulously rich aristocrat. He surfaces first in Rome, where he becomes acquainted with Franz d'Epinay, a young aristocrat, and Albert de Morcerf, Mercédès's and Mondego's son. He subsequently moves to Paris, where he becomes the sensation of the city. Due to his knowledge and rhetorical power, even his enemies find him charming, and because of his status, they all want to be his friend.
Travelling in disguise under an alias, Monte Cristo first meets Caderousse, living in poverty, supposedly being punished by God for his jealousy and cowardice in not acting to save Dantes. Playing on Caderousse's greed, Monte Cristo learns about what has happened since his arrest, and how his other enemies have all become wealthy and prosperous. Since Caderousse has already been punished somewhat, Monte Cristo gives him a diamond that can be either a chance to redeem himself, or a trap that will lead his greed to ruin him. Caderousse's greed leads him into murder, until Monte Cristo frees him and gives him another chance at redemption. He does not take it, and becomes a career criminal. Caderousse's greed is the death of him when he is murdered by a confederate while trying to rob Monte Cristo's house.
He meets Danglars, now a banker, dazzles him with his seemingly endless wealth, and eventually convinces him to extend him a line of "unlimited credit", of which the first installment is six million francs. The Count manipulates the bond market and quickly destroys a large portion of Danglars' fortune. After a few months, all Danglars is left with is the six million he lent to the Count. With this as his only asset, Danglars flees to Italy, where the Count's personal bank, the house of Thompson and French, is based.
Monte Cristo owns a Greek slave, Haydée. Her noble father, Ali Pasha, had implicitly trusted Fernand, only to be betrayed by him in a war. After his death, she and her mother were sold into slavery. The Count manipulates Danglars into researching the event, which is published in a newspaper. As a result, Fernand is brought to trial for his crimes. Haydée testifies against him, and Fernand is disgraced.
Mercédès had married Fernand and borne him a son, Albert. She alone recognizes Monte Cristo. She recounts the story of her youth to Albert before he is supposed to fight a duel with Monte Cristo over his role in his father's downfall. Albert and Mercédès disown Fernand, who subsequently commits suicide. The mother and son depart to build a new life free of disgrace.
Last to feel Monte Cristo's vengeance is Villefort. Villefort's family is divided. Valentine, his daughter by his first wife Renée, stands to inherit the entire fortune of her mother's family and that of her grandfathers, but his second wife, Heloise, seeks the fortune for her son Edward. Monte Cristo is aware of Heloise's intentions, and, in a seemingly innocent fashion, provides her with a toxin capable of curing people with one drop, but killing people with an overdose. Heloise murders a house servant, Barrois (unintentionally), Villefort's in-laws Saint-Mérans, and attempts to murder Valentine and Villefort's father, Noirtier.
Meanwhile, Monte Cristo haunts Villefort with his past affair with Danglars' wife and the son they had. Years before, Mme Danglars had borne a child by Villefort, at a house in Auteuil. Villefort had buried the child, telling her it was stillborn. However, the boy was rescued from his grave and raised by Bertuccio, an enemy of Villefort who attempted to kill the judge on the night of his child's birth. Monte Cristo, whose servant Bertuccio now is, and who now owns the house in Auteuil, is able to use them against Villefort. As a grown man, the son enters Paris in disguise as Count Andrea Cavalcanti, only revealing his identity to Villefort after he is arrested for the murder of Caderousse.
Valentine is saved from poisoning by Monte Cristo, and through Noirtier, Villefort learns that Heloise is a murderer. When Heloise is confronted, she panics and kills both Edward and herself. These shocking events, coupled with Monte Cristo's revelation of his true identity, drive Villefort mad.
[edit] Redemption
Matters, however, are more complicated than Dantès had anticipated. His efforts to destroy his enemies and reward the few who had stood by him become horribly intertwined. This problem reaches its zenith when Edmond learns that Maximilien Morrel, the son of one of his steadfast friends, is in love with Valentine de Villefort, and soon thereafter that the child Edward de Villefort has been poisoned by his mother. These tragic complications, especially the latter, cause Dantès to question his role as an agent of a vengeful God. This temporarily deters him from his course of action. During this period of doubt, he comes to terms with his own humanity and is finally able to forgive both his enemies and himself. It is only when he is sure that his cause is just and his conscience is clear, that he can fulfill his plan. Maximillien Morrel is distraught because he believes his true love, Valentine, to be dead. He contemplates suicide after witnessing her funeral. Monte Cristo reveals himself to be the person who rescued Mr. Morrel from suicide years earlier. Maximillien is grateful and is persuaded by Monte Cristo to delay his suicide for a month. A month later, on the island of Monte Cristo, the count presents Valentine to Maximillien and reveals that he saved her from the poison attempt. Monte Cristo then leaves the island and sends Jacopo to deliver a letter to them which reveals that he has left all his treasure to Maximillien. Haydée offers Edmond a new love and life. The two leave together, seemingly to begin anew.
[edit] Characters
There are a large number of characters in this book, and the importance of many of the characters is not immediately obvious. Furthermore, the characters' fates are often so inter-woven that their stories overlap significantly.
[edit] Edmond Dantès and his aliases
- Edmond Dantès — Dantès is initially an experienced, generally well-liked sailor who seems to have everything going for him, including a beautiful fiancée (Mercédès) and an impending promotion to ship's captain. After transforming into the Count of Monte Cristo, his original name is only revealed to each of his main enemies as each revenge is completed, often driving his already weakened victims into despair.
- Number 34 — When a new governor arrives at the Château d'If early in Dantès's, he does not feel it worth his time to learn the names of all the prisoners, instead choosing to refer to them by the numbers of their cells. Thus, Dantès is called Number 34 during his imprisonment.
- Count of Monte Cristo — The persona that Edmond assumes when he escapes from his incarceration and while he carries out his dreadful vengeance. This persona is marked by a pale countenance and a smile which can be diabolical or angelic. Educated and mysterious, this alias is trusted in Paris and fascinates the people.
- Lord Wilmore — The English persona in which Dantès performs seemingly random acts of generosity. The Englishman is eccentric and refuses to speak French. This eccentric man, in his kindness, is almost the opposite of the Count of Monte Cristo and accordingly the two are supposed to be enemies.
- Simbad the Sailor — The persona that Edmond assumes when he saves the vicomte Albert de Morcerf (son of his biggest enemy who married his love Mercedes) in Rome. (Sinbad the sailor is the common English translation of the original French Simbad le marin.)
- Abbé Busoni — The persona that Edmond puts forth when he needs deep trust from others because the name itself demands respect via religious authority.
[edit] Dantès's allies
- Abbé Faria — Italian priest and sage; befriends Edmond while both are prisoners in the Chateau d'If, and reveals the secret of the island of Monte Cristo to Edmond. Becomes the surrogate father of Edmond, while imprisoned, digging a tunnel to freedom he educates Edmont in languages, and all the current sciences (including chemistry which comes to his aid greatly during his revenge plan) and is the figurative father of the Count of Monte Cristo.
- Bertuccio — The Count of Monte Cristo's steward and very loyal servant. He has a deeply seated personal vendetta towards Prosecutor Villefort. He later stabs Villefort, believing him to be dead, but becomes involved in Villefort's personal life by rescuing his illegitimate new born, later named Benedetto by Bertuccio.
- Luigi Vampa — Italian bandit and fugitive; owes much to the Count of Monte Cristo, and is instrumental in many of the Count's plans.
- Haydée — Daughter of Ali Pasha is eventually bought by the Count of Monte Cristo from a Sultan. Even though she was purchased as a slave, Monte Cristo treats her with the utmost respect. She lives in seclusion by her own choice, but is usually very aware of the everything what is happening outside. She usually goes to local operas accompanied by the Count. At the trial of Fernand Mondego, she provides the key evidence required to convict Fernand of treason. She is deeply in love with the Count of Monte Cristo, and although he feels he is too old for her, he eventually reciprocates.
[edit] Morcerf family
- Mercédès — (née: Herrera) The fiancée of Edmond Dantès at the beginning of the story, she marries Fernand Mondego while Dantès is imprisoned. It must be noted this is not out of her love for Fernand, but for her desire to have companionship. So, Dantes actually remains her true love. After marrying Mondego she is presumably rejected by Dantès. This complicates matters as her love for him is evident. But, at the end of the story, Monte Cristo comes to realize, that it is Haydee he loves. He has a respect for Mercedes, but leaves her to live her life in Marseille, where he bought the house in which he lived as a young man.
- Fernand Mondego — Later known as the Count de Morcerf. He is also in love with Mercédès and will do anything to get her. He is overall a representation of evil, as he lies and betrays through out his life for his own personal gain. But, when confronted by his nefarious acts and disgraced in public, he commits suicide.
- Albert de Morcerf — Son of Mercédès and the Count de Morcerf. Befriends Monte Cristo in Rome; viewed by Monte Cristo as the son that should have been his with Mercédès. At the end, he realizes his father's faults and, along with his mother, Mercédès, abandons him and his name.
[edit] Danglars family
- Baron Danglars — Initially the purser on the same ship on which Dantès served as first mate, he longs to be wealthy and powerful and becomes jealous of Dantès for his favor with M. Morrel. He also developed a grudge against Dantes from Dantes gaining Morrel's favour, and telling the shipowner about Danglars' dishonest accounting.
- Madame Danglars — Was independently wealthy before marrying Danglars. With help from her close friend Lucien Debray, Madame Danglars invests the money of Danglars and is able to amass over a million francs for her own disposal.
- Eugénie Danglars — The daughter of Danglars engaged to Albert de Morcerf but who would rather stay unwed. She is presented as a lesbian and the connotations at this and her running away with another girl were considered scandalous.
[edit] Villefort family
- Gérard de Villefort — A royal prosecutor who has even denounced his own father (Noirtier) in order to protect his own career. He is responsible for imprisoning Edmond Dantès to save his aspirations for his career.
- Valentine Villefort — The daughter of Gérard de Villefort, the crown prosecutor and enemy of Edmond. She falls in love with Maximilien Morrel, is engaged to Baron Franz d'Epinay, is almost poisoned by her step-mother, and is finally saved by Dantès and her grandfather, Noirtier. Valentine is the quintessential (French, nineteenth century) female: beautiful, docile, and loving. The only person she feels that she can confide in is her invalid grandfather.
- Noirtier de Villefort — The father of Gérard de Villefort and grandfather of Valentine. After suffering an apoplectic stroke, Noirtier becomes mute and a quadriplegic, but can communicate with Valentine and others using his eyes. Although utterly dependent on others, he saves Valentine from the poison of her step-mother and her undesired marriage to Baron Franz d'Epinay. Throughout his life he was a Bonapartist – an ardent French Revolutionary. Indirectly responsible for Edmond's incarceration.
- Héloïse de Villefort — The murderous second wife of Villefort who is motivated to protect and nurture her only son and his inheritance.
- Édouard de Villefort — the only (legitimate) son of Villefort who is unfortunately swept up in his mother's greed. (His name is sometimes translated as Edward de Villefort.)
- Benedetto — Illegitimate son of de Villefort and Hermine de Nargonne (now Baroness Hermine Danglars); raised by Bertuccio (Monte Cristo's servant) and his sister-in-law, Assunta. Murderer and thief. Returns to Paris as Andrea Cavalcanti.
[edit] Other important characters
- Gaspard Caderousse — Originally a neighbour and friend of Dantès, he witnesses while drunk the writing by Danglars of the denunciation of Dantès. After Dantès is arrested, he is too cowardly to come forward with the truth. Caderousse is somewhat different from the other members of the conspiracy in that it is what he does not do, rather than what he actually plans, that leads to Dantès' arrest. After his escape from prison, Dantès (and the reader) first hear the fates of many of the characters from Caderousse. Unlike the other members of the conspiracy, Monte Cristo offers Caderousse a chance to redeem himself, but the latter's greed proves his undoing.
- Maximilien Morrel — He is the son of Edmond's employer, M. Morrel. After Edmond's escape, Maximilien becomes a very good friend to the Count of Monte Cristo, yet still manages to force the Count to change many of his plans.
- Julie Herbault — Daughter of Edmond's patron, M. Morrel, she marries Emmanuel Herbault.
- Emmanuel Herbault — Julie Herbault's husband, he is the brother in law of Maximilien Morrel and son in law of M. Morrel.
- Baron Franz d'Epinay — A friend of Albert de Morcerf, he is the first fiancé of Valentine de Villefort. Franz's father was killed in a duel by Monsieur Noirtier de Villefort.
- Lucien Debray — Secretary to the Minister of the Interior. A friend of Albert de Morcerf, and a close friend of Madame Danglars, to whom he funnels insider information regarding investments.
- Beauchamp — A journalist and friend of Albert de Morcerf.
- Baron de Château-Renaud — Another friend of Albert de Morcerf. Renaud's life was saved by Maximilien Morrel.
[edit] Publication
The Count of Monte Cristo was originally published in the Journal des Débats in eighteen parts. Publication ran from August 28, 1844 through January, 1846. Complete versions of the novel in the original French were published throughout the nineteenth century.
The most common English translation was originally published in 1846 by Chapman and Hall. Most unabridged English editions of the novel, including the Modern Library and Oxford World's Classics editions, use this translation, although Penguin Classics published a new translation by Robin Buss in 1996. Buss' translation updated the language, is more accessible to modern readers, and restored content that was modified in the 1846 translation (due to Victorian English social restrictions (for example, references to Eugénie's lesbian traits and behavior)) to Dumas' actual publication. Other English translations of the unabridged work exist, but are rarely seen in print and most borrow from the 1846 anonymous translation.
Various abridged translations of the novel are also in print.
[edit] Editions
- ISBN 2-221-06457-7, French language edition
- ISBN 0-19-283395-2, 1846 translation (Oxford World's Classics)
- ISBN 0-14-044926-4, Robin Buss translation (Penguin Classics)
- ISBN 1-85326-733-3, Wordsworth Classics (complete and unabridged)
- ISBN 0-375-76030-X, Modern Library Classics (complete and unabridged, introduction by Lorenzo Carcaterra)
[edit] Homages and adaptations
- See The Count of Monte Cristo (film) for a list of film adaptations
- Alexandre Dumas wrote a set of the three plays that collectively told the story of The Count of Monte Cristo: Monte Cristo (1848), Le Comte de Morcerf (1851), and Villefort (1851).
- Lew Wallace went on record that The Count of Monte Cristo was one of the chief inspirations for Ben-Hur.[1]
- Alfred Bester's classic science fiction novel The Stars My Destination (1956) is a retelling of much of the plot of The Count of Monte Cristo.
- Jinyong's wuxia novel Requiem of Ling Sing (1963) is widely regarded as having a similar plot to The Count of Monte Cristo.
- The episode of The Simpsons entitled "Revenge is a Dish Best Served Three Times" features a segment, "The Count of Monte Fatso", starring Homer in the title role.
- Stephen Fry's novel The Stars' Tennis Balls is, by his own admission "a straight steal, virtually identical in all but period and style to Alexandre Dumas' The Count of Monte Cristo".
- A Malayalam film inspired by this story, Padayottam, was Kerala's first 70 mm movie.
- A critically acclaimed Venezuelan telenovela, La Dueña, is inspired by the novel.
- Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo is an anime series, produced in 2004 by GONZO and directed by Mahiro Maeda.
- Park Chan-wook's 2003 film, Oldboy, and the manga it is based on, Oldboy (manga) written by Tsuchiya Garon, pays partial homage to The Count of Monte Cristo story. For instance, the protagonist is jailed in a private cell for a long time period (15 years in the film; 10 in the manga). Upon release, the protagonist is given money and new clothes, and seeks vengeance upon his captors. A strong theme of vengeance and revenge, as in the Monte Cristo story, pervades both the manga and the film. Also, in the film, Oh-Dae Su is referred to as "the Count of Monte Cristo" in jest.
[edit] Unofficial sequels
The next 50 years after the publication of The Count of Monte Cristo saw many unofficial sequels written by other authors. Many of these were published under Dumas' name, to increase sales.
- Alfredo Hogan wrote a sequel, The Hand of the Dead, in Portuguese, in which Dantès's revenge backfires and his life and fortune are forfeit.
- Jean Charles Du Boys wrote The Countess of Monte Cristo in 1869.
- Edmund Flagg wrote a three-part set of sequels, beginning with Edmond Dantes in 1878.
- Jules Hippolyte Lermina wrote The Son of Monte Cristo in 1881.
- Paul Mahalin wrote Mademoiselle Monte-Cristo in 1896.
[edit] Pop culture references
- In James Joyce's 'A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man', the young protagonist's imagination is excited by Dumas' novel.
- In the movie Rocky, the boxer Apollo Creed's nickname was "The Count of Monte Fisto".
- In the movie The Shawshank Redemption, a copy of The Count of Monte Cristo is found while Andy and his friends are doing inventory on all the books for their library. Heywood mistakenly reads the novel as "The Count of Monte Crisco" and pronounces the author's name "Alexandree Dumbass". The movie also contains many similarities to the novel, a false conviction and escape from prison to name a few.
- The final season of Garfield and Friends ran a U.S. Acres segment titled "The Discount of Monte Cristo", in which Orson, Wade, and Roy try to act out the story. They end up having to put a stop to it because Aloysius (Orson's pushy cousin) keeps removing things to keep the show under budget.
- In the movie version of V for Vendetta, after the destruction of Parliament, Detective Finch asks Evey Hammond who "V" really was and she replied that he was "Edmond Dantès" and that he represented everyone in England. Evey thought it would be fitting to give him that formal name after his death because The Count of Monte Cristo was his favorite film.
[edit] Trivia
- The playwright Eugene O'Neill's father, James O'Neill, famously played the title role in a stage adaptation of the novel.
- As of 2007, Edmond Dantès' fortune would be roughly equivalent to about 11 billion dollars, adjusted for inflation.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- The Count of Monte Cristo, available at Project Gutenberg.
- Pierre Picaud: The "Real" Count
- Sparknotes Literary Analysis of The Count of Monte Cristo
- A list of unofficial sequels to The Count of Monte Cristo
